A Hand to Hold
by DropsOfTwilight
Summary: EmmettxBella Original. Their need for companionship reigns and they spend a day together away from the Cullen household. LAST CHAPTER is FINALLY UP! Thanks for your guys help. Hope you like this & get excited for this onea lot of unexpectedness.
1. Chapter1:Lakes, Cafés, & a Movie at Dusk

**A/N: A long first chapter. This idea was new to me, and the characters may be a little different than you imagine they were, but see that saying up there? "Unleash your imagination"? Yeah, when I put this up, I had the understanding that they were talking to me, the publisher of the fic. So it's MY imagination that you're reading into. There should be two, or three chapters at the most. I won't continue this fic, after the final chapter, so please don't ask me to. Please give constructive criticism, and don't murder me, because Bella--well you read, and you'll find out what happened. This is an EmmettxBella original, and don't say I didn't warn you cause I did. You don't like the story, then tough. :) I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but I see how some people review other pieces. It's not my fault, that things happen the way they do. That's just it, they do. So read, hope you enjoy. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW. Oh, and, Happy Reading!!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or New Moon, or Emmett and Jake's sexy looks. Stephenie Meyer does. I do, however, own any weird personalities or choices that are made in this fic, so I claim them. And if you think this story is good, then, hey, I take that as a compliment. :)_**  
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Chapter 1: Lakes, Cafés, and a Movie at Dusk

"Bella, don't be difficult. I'll just be gone for a couple of days, that's all," Edward stated, trying to seem convincing, yet failing terribly. My face grew hot; I felt like the wind had been kicked out of me.

A _couple_ of _days_?! I couldn't last a couple of _hours_ without him, let alone a couple of days. I let my eyes reach his, trying to find some means of a compromise, and a way out. I needed to be reasonable, so I asked a question that would surprise him, but give me my answer at the same time.

"Why so long? I mean, why a couple of days? Why not just one?" I tried to hide the poutiness in my voice and the upset, I tried to create the impression that I was asking only for formality, but I couldn't. I leaned on him while he brought his hand to my cheek to cup my face to his, and he kissed me shortly. He pulled back so I could better see his face and I held a sadness in my eyes that his own deep auburn pair reflected almost exactly if not more handsome.

"I _need_ to, love. It's inevitable. I haven't been out for...two weeks, at least. You understand, don't you?" He put on a "puppy dog" face that I was most unfamiliar with, as a loud, booming chuckle came from the other couch and I jumped surprised at the loudness of it. I had forgotten that Emmett was sitting in the same room watching TV. I forget all surroundings with Edward a lot of the time. "What're you laughing about?" Edward whipped at Emmett who continued shaking and chortling simultaneously.

"_You understand, don't you, darling?_" Emmett teased, and pulled his quivering lip down into his own version of a "puppy dog" face. He was unintentionally showing his face as an actor would in an intense romance scene.

"Leave us alone," Edward growled and his face grew hard above mine. Emmett flipped off the TV and walked out of the room, as Edward turned his beautiful face back to my own insufficient features and I frowned a little. "So? That's alright, right?" He coaxed his words with a seductive flow in an attempt for me to agree quickly.

I looked away dizzily, yet still disappointed, and muttered, "Yeah, whatever," and he brought my chin to face him again.

"I'm sorry," he said as he reached down to push his cool lips against my own, and I urgently took the gesture as an opportunity to fit in one last hard kiss. I left my lips there, and he waited about a second, after my tongue brushed longingly on his bottom lip, to pull away.

He smiled his crooked smile, pulled some hair from the front of my face, and brushed his fingers to the side of my cheek, leaving a burning after his cold fingertips left my face. He reached down to kiss the hollow at the bottom of my throat, and I held in my breath, knowing well that my erratic heartbeat would be heard by him. Sure enough, his kiss at my throat ended as his lips pulled into a smile, and he ended with a brush against the skin at my jaw.

"I'm going to miss that, y'know," he laughed softly and stood up faster than my eyes would and could register. Stupid human restraints.

"Wait--now?" I sat up, both sad and angry, trying to control my facial expressions, hoping that it would work and I wouldn't look like a helpless fool; it didn't. "What am I...? What am I supposed to do, for two days?" I pulled my legs up to my chest and hugged my knees to myself looking at the couch cushion.

He held an expression that was clearly trying to hold back a laugh and he eyed me sympathetically. "If it's not a problem...maybe you could spend time with Emmett or Carlisle at the hospital...or go fishing...with Charlie. I dunno, or...surprise me when I get back," he looked down at her hopefully.

I narrowed my eyes back at him trying an angry face, and attempting to hold in a laugh myself, "Well, it's not much of a surprise if you know about it beforehand," I pouted. "I love you," I said and reached my arms up in a hug.

He offered his hands and pulled me up along with him, using no effort at all, hugging me back, pulling me away for a second, and kissing me below my ear. I giggled and he whispered 'Goodbye' in my ear, letting go and walking out the front door with Jasper, and Esme. Carlisle was at the hospital, Rosalie and Alice were out shopping and Emmett was probably waiting in the kitchen for me to finish with Edward.

I grabbed the remote, curled up to one side of the couch and turned the TV on changing the channels. "You can come in now," I said quietly to Emmett in the other room, as if he didn't already know. Emmett walked in with a small snack-sized bag of chips and a bottle of Coke. He sat down next to me and placed it in my hands, and I smiled at him.

"What's this for?" a smile still on my face, as he held his hand open for the remote.

He turned to me, with a slightly curious expression. "I heard you sulking when his car drove off. I don't want you to starve yourself while he's gone," he tried casually.

"Um, thanks," I said, my eyes still on him as he took back the bag of chips. "So..." I tried for small-talk, "What are you gonna do today?" He looked back at me, leaving the remote on his lap and the TV station on a quiet soap opera.

"Um...jeez, I dunno," he sighed. "Probably go for a swim at the lake, or maybe go for a drive to La Push, one of the beaches off the reservation, and on the coast. Did you want to come?" he asked. "We could go to lunch, I mean, I wouldn't eat, but I'd take you, if you wanted to. So?"

I thought it over a bit. Other than this plan that Emmett had to take me swimming, I had nothing else to do. I finished all of my homework with Alice, and Charlie was out fishing as usual. It sounded like a good idea, but I had a mood change, and I felt up to experimentation. Nothing too major, but something small enough for good laughs.

Wait did he say La Push? Maybe Jake'd be there. I mean we're not going on the reservation, but maybe...I hope I could see him...I'd really like a swim, though.

"That sounds great; these summer heats are killing me..." I said not paying much attention to Emmett; no, I was thinking about what he'd say if I asked him what I was itching to do.

"Yeah, my body seems to be getting a little warm, too," he joked and rubbed his forearm, smiling at me widely. He opened the bag of chips as gently as was possible; he could easily break the bag, and scatter the chips everywhere. I took it back slowly, and he looked at my face, confused.

"What is it?" he asked, impatient.

"Can I...? Err...can I drive? There?" I added hopefully. Then I my eyes met up to his eyes and he looked like he was about to laugh again, probably wondering why I was getting worked up and anxious, just because I wanted to drive--I was starting to wonder about that, too.

"Okay, if you want. But on one condition."

"What's that?" I said a bit dazed, lost in thought.

"I" he placed his hand on his chest "...get to drive home. Understood?"

"Um, okay..."

We left the house with my truck, my foot pushing the gas pedal, the speed hovering at its limit's capacity, 50 miles per hour. I wasn't embarrassed; I liked my truck, and I liked going at this speed. I peeked over at Emmett for only a second, and he looked straight back at me, with a smile playing at his lips. He laughed almost quietly, and it was a new pleasant laugh -it was unusual, because Emmett always found me as entertaining whenever I was around him, and his booming laugh was ever present- that made me want to smile back, but I held it in.

"What is it?"

"Is this how fast you usually drive?" he asked, still laughing, but quieting down.

My eyes left his and focused back to the road. "Well, yeah, this is as fast as it goes. I'm afraid to go any faster, and I don't want to lose my truck."

"You surprise me, Bella. I mean, as many times as Edward has driven you to and from school, you like to drive slow. Ha." He shook his head, looking out the window, obviously from a newer perspective as he is inured to going at an unnaturally rapid speed common to vampires.

I rolled my eyes and turned into Charlie's parking spot, pulling my keys out of the ignition and opening my door. Emmett and I walked in through my front door, and he waited downstairs in the living room while I ran, carefully, upstairs to my room. I pulled out a dark brown tote bag with teal butterflies on the side, and pulled open my drawers.

Remembering that I hadn't brought out my bikini since I went to First Beach, I brought pulled out all of my clothes from my dresser drawer, and fished for the aqua halter tankini top with white polka dots and bottom. I threw them on the bed along with two extra outfits for me to change in to later, and I walked back into the bathroom to fetch some sunscreen and two towels.

"Emmett! Do you need a towel?" I shouted from the top of the stairs.

"No, thanks," he shouted back lightly.

"Kay!"

I went back into my room, stuffed my clothes, towel, and sunscreen into my bag, and threw my clothes from today into the hamper. I drew my swimwear on and pulled a white camisole and a pair of capris over it. I slung my bag over my shoulder and pulled my hair up into a ponytail with a rubber band.

Running down the stairs, I tripped on the last step and my hands and knees rubbed against the carpet, resulting in rug-burn. Emmett stood up, with thunderous laughter, and helped me up.

"You...okay...?" he asked, laughing between words, and scooping me up from the ground.

"Yup," I said, sounding much more excited than I should have been, considering I just got hurt physically...again. I waved my hands in the air to get the makeshift wind to cool the new sore. I was much too used to getting hurt in my own house that the "hurt" part of "getting hurt" didn't affect me, and it was as normal as rain is in Forks.

Emmett glanced at me for a second, still laughing as I grabbed my bag, pulled it over my shoulder, and followed me out the door. I started up the car.

"Okay, where to?" I asked excited for the day ahead. It was sunny, much too warm for Forks, and Emmett was easy to talk to, when he wasn't making fun of me. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and long, baggy pants, and I was wearing loose clothes with the wind blowing on my face and a few rays of sun kissing my cheeks. Emmett was looking at me but I didn't take a second thought.

"Go near the forest. I assume Edward has shown you the meadow. Yes, do you know how to get there?" Emmett asked in a businesslike tone.

"Yes," I smiled quietly. I felt a bit safer when Edward was there taking me through the forest running, or on those few occasions that we actually had walked their way somewhere. I felt it would be competent to put my trust into Emmett. "I don't know exactly where the meadow is; Edward would let me ride on his back, or he'd carry me. But I know how to drive out to the road that ends to...well, nowhere in particular. Right?"

"Well, yeah. So we can just park over there. The lake isn't as far in as the meadow is, so we can walk to the lake." He glanced back at me, reached his arm to my right hand. He held it, acted as if he was inspecting it. "Okay, I guess I can run you there. It might be a bit safer...which is _exactly_ what you need."

"Oh, shut up." I took back my hand, narrowing my eyes at him, yet laughing quietly to myself.

I turned onto the dirt road, the one that my rugged truck was made for, and the one where Edward gave me his first kiss. Butterflies were fluttering in my stomach, and my cheeks grew hot, while I shifted my eyes back at Emmett, still staring at me. I glimpsed at him, and changed the gear, putting the car in park, and removing the key from the ignition. He shook his head slightly and out of his trance, as I smiled at him. He opened his door, and I frowned. I turned to my door, and he was outside of my door opening it waiting for me to get out.

I grabbed my bag and he pulled out his small backpack helping me to put on both, so he could easily hold me up on his back. I piggy-backed Emmett and he took off, the green trees and shrubs resembling a blur. The mist that hung under the canopy, even though the day was sunny, blanketed my cheeks.

We started to slow down at an opening in the trees. The banks here were green, like the grass in the meadow, and two oaks tree branches entwined with vines at the lake's entrance, creating a doorway for us. The sunlight shone through the top of the trees, and it played nicely against the lake water, radiating a blue-green subsistence that mesmerized me into a fascination, into reverie, as he lowered me to the ground. The earth beneath me was damp and slanted slightly with my weight, as I balanced and walked forward taking in every sight. The trance that took hold let me walk to a small pool at one of the edges of the lake.

I gazed back at Emmett and he was watching me from the opening, his hand against one of the trees. I smiled at him and he smiled back warmly, as I reached down to a large sturdy stone next to the shallower pool on the edge of the lake. It was flat, so I sat on top of it, setting down our bags.

"Can we...go in?" I asked him, and in a flash he was next to me, leaning down to open the bag and to bring out his towel, his eyes never leaving my face.

He smiled and nodded, as his stood up to his full height and pulled off the hooded sweatshirt that hugged at his enormous muscles. His skin was pale and tight against his abs, and chest muscles. I watched in fascination, as he enjoyed the attention. I followed tentatively in his lead as I slipped off my camisole, and pulled the rubber band out of my hair, shaking out the gathering of hair at the back of my head. We never broke our focus on each other, and I stood up with him, my eyes resting on his tight body. I unbuttoned my capris and slid them off of my legs and onto the rock next to our bags. I felt a slight chill, realizing at the same time, that it might not just be due to the weather and temperature of this place. He pulled down his baggy pants, and underneath were a pair of board shorts, that hung seemly from his hips.

He was beautiful, and my hollow at the bottom of my throat caught up with the feeling stirring somewhere near my stomach. The corner of his perfectly-shaped mouth pulled up into half a smile, he took off his shoes, and he walked to the shallow pool. He turned back to me, as I was fervently taking off my shoes and I followed him to the nearby pool, itching to get inside with him. The feeling was weird; I wanted to touch him. I had, in a way, wanted a confirmation that my eyes had not deceived me, and that I wasn't hallucinating.

I reached my foot into the water that was warm, yet a little off from what would be room temperature. Emmett walked into the water far enough until it only reached up to his waist. He turned back to me, gesturing me to come in, and I walked into the pool, wading towards him ever so slowly. He smiled, unwittingly luring me in and I felt a burning sensation in my chest and stomach. I started off towards the other end of the small lake; it was larger than a pond but smaller than a normal lake. I circled him, and chilled my arms as they guided me around the edges of the "pool". I stopped and waded right in front of him, the burning sensation still present and rumbling.

On instinct, I stole a gulp of breath and dove underwater, swimming around, hoping that it would help to get me to him. I was just below the surface and even from this angle, he resembled a runway model. I pulled myself above water, my body less than a foot away from his. His chest was so tempting and his eyes alluring. I smiled at him and his eyes journeyed down to my chest. I admired his neck and jaw line, reaching my small hands to his waist beneath the water. His large hands grasped my waist gently and he pulled me up swiftly to kiss my lips. His were cold and I closed my eyes, savoring what I thought I could never have as long as I was human. He pulled his hands against my back and I pulled my hands up to his neck. He lifted me up against his rock hard chest, and my legs wrapped around his back, not wanting this to stop. His tongue reached my bottom lip and my own tongue responded to caress his bottom lip. He tugged at my bottom lip slightly, and I released my lips from his. I still held onto him, my arms around his neck, as tears escaped my eyes, and moans slipped from my throat. I felt like a betrayer, to Rosalie, and to...I couldn't even think the name, and Emmett instantly understood. My head rested on his shoulder and he didn't question my instantaneous release, as I silently wept into his arms.

"I'm...so...sorry..." I gasped between words, and he pulled his right hand to the back of my head stroking my hair, but this time in a brotherly gesture.

"I'm sorry...I...am sorry, Bella," he said quietly, his voice breaking in unison with my breaths. "I should've never...We..." he stopped. He hugged me as gently as was possible, and I embraced him, hoping the tears would stop.

"I...should've never...led you on..." Emmett said quietly as my tears began to cease, and he carried me to the rock with our bags and clothing.

"It's...not your fault. This was...nice Emmett, thanks for...bringing me. It's...beautiful here..." I managed to voice. "Can we leave? ...I'm...err...getting hungry..." I lied, as I pulled my towel around me and wiped my face. I grabbed the rubber band, tied up my hair, and kept my eyes away from his face.

He was looking down at his towel and brought it to wipe down his body, as I wiped my self down. I pulled down my fist clamped through my hair to bring out some of the water. We both changed quickly, and pushed our things into our bags. I wiped my face one last time, to stop the tears, and Emmett was waiting at the entrance.

The ride back to the truck was short, and it got me thinking. _ He _wouldn't be back here in Forks in two days...I could last two days. I'd just have to behave. Wow, I never thought I'd have to tell _myself_ to behave. I walked up to the car to unlock his door before my own. I threw the bags onto the seat and walked around the front hood to unlock my door. I stuck the key in and turned grasping the handle. Before the door was even displaced, a large hand shut the door, and gently pulled my own hand off of the handle.

"Nope," I whipped my head to face Emmett, his body above mine and his head towering over my own.

"What?" I asked, unintentionally narrowing my eyes at him.

"I'm driving, we made a deal remember?'" he asked his face holding an innocent expression.

"Oh. I forgot." I opened his door and slid in the truck to the other side as he was sitting waiting ready to go. I fastened my seat belt buckle and he pulled out, revving the engine.

"No more than 55, Emmett."

He sighed and turned on the radio. A light techno/indie song was playing, as if it was mocking us to forgive and forget about what had just happened. The beat was nice, and the sun was still out, lightening my prior heavy feelings that pulled at my chest.

We were in town within 15 minutes; even though I checked the speedometer, remaining faithfully at 55 mph, we still seemed to get there faster with Emmett's driving. He startled me with his booming voice, as he cleared his throat, and I jumped in my seat, interrupted while deciding what I "wanted" to eat. The thinking and stomach churning that had occurred during our ride back to town made me a bit hungrier than before. I instantly thought of Italian, and decided that it reminded me of Edward. Not that that was a bad thing, but after what had just happened, I needed something to take my mind off of him, to calm myself down. I had a weird take on coffee; it doesn't keep me up and running. In fact, I can sleep after drinking it, even a mere half an hour later.

We stopped near a café and he asked me if "here" was okay. I nodded as he passed me a 20-dollar bill, and I closed the passenger door behind me. I ordered my iced coffee and a muffin, paid the cashier and walked out to find my truck across the street. There were no cars in the road, and only a couple of elderly were walking into small shops along the same road. Emmett was waiting in the truck and I was sipping on the straw, as someone's footsteps were behind me. I turned around quickly, I might describe it as a knee-jerk reaction, really, and there standing as the server of the footfalls was Jacob Black.

I surfaced from the gulp of my coffee, and I took comfort in admiring his face with a smile. "Hi, Jake," I said, as he smiled back at me, his russet skin tight and chiseled glistening in the sun. "What're you doing here?"

"My dad wanted to pick up some supplies," he gestured towards a fishing supplies store, where Billy Black was sitting his wheelchair through the doorway, examining a rack of lures next to the front door of the shop. He glanced up from the rack to look into the street at my truck. With Emmett waiting inside, Billy Black whipped his face back to the rack and muttered something to himself. "And I wanted to say hi. Guess we didn't need to go to your house to do that."

"Nope, but you found me," I smiled pleased. "Charlie's on a fishing trip anyway. He'll be gone today and tomorrow," I waved my hand dismissively. I was at a loss of what to say; Jake was easy to talk to, when a subject of importance struck. But for right now, I was stuck. My body tensed very slightly, and I didn't want to say goodbye yet. "So...are you excited about being a...sophomore?" Nice, an opportunity to bring up something more important and you ask about school. "You're going to be a sophomore, right?"

"Yep, a sophomore," he said proudly. Well, he took this better than I thought he would. "I hope it's better than this past year. Freshman year was a bit of a drag. Anyway, I was wondering, if you weren't too busy tomorrow, that maybe you'd want to go and catch a movie or something? If you're busy then that's alright, maybe another time," he smiled hopefully.

Whoa, I wasn't really expecting that. But maybe it could work. Maybe a movie would be good for me. I don't think I could handle another day with Emmett, and Jacob's a guy that's easy to talk to. It might help me to forget about what happened today.

"Okay, Jake. That sounds like fun. Yeah, I'd love to."

"Err... I can pick you up at your house if you'd like. I finally have my permit."

"All right, what time?"

"We can eat lunch and catch a movie in Port Angeles so I could pick you up at around...11? Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sounds like a plan, then," I smiled up at him feeling horribly short. First Emmett and now Jake.

"Kay, then, tomorrow it is. I'll see you then," Jake said as he walked to the fishing supply store to join his father, still perusing the small shop.

"Yup," I said happily as I continued to the passenger door of my truck with Emmett still waiting.

"So, you're going to a movie tomorrow, huh?"

"Yup," I said again. "Oh and Emmett?" I said more seriously.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean for it to happen. Could you just do me a favor?"

"Yes?"

"When he comes back, could you try not to think about it. I don't want him to know."

"Yeah."

"Promise me," my voice faltered a bit, yet it was firm pleading.

"Don't worry, Bella. I promise. And don't you go off telling Rose about it, either."

I nodded as I gazed out the window, when we drove up to my driveway. I opened the door, and stopped on my way out. I turned back to Emmett and he looked back at me.

"We can go back inside and watch TV. Or a movie, if you want. I have to shower. And you can, too. Plus, you'll have to get out, this is my truck remember?" I tried to lighten the mood.

"Okay," it seemed innocent enough to the both of us. He parked the car in my spot, as I was unlocking the front door to a very empty house. He closed the door behind us. I went into the living room, and pulled the remote from Charlie's table. He sat on the couch, and I handed him the remote and dropped his bag next to the couch leg.

"I'm going up, then," I stated awkwardly as I brought my stuff upstairs to unpack.

I undressed in my room, and wrapped a robe, which was now too tight and short for even my body, around me and shuffled into the bathroom to take a quick, warm shower. My muscles evened up from the awkward position that I had put myself in on the way home from the coffee shop. I felt plastered to the door trying to collect my thoughts, and at this point I felt rather silly for acting the way that I did. While in the shower, my thoughts were still cloudy and I just anticipated how the day was going to end. Part of me wanted to stay with Emmett, and to watch a movie; I liked spending time with him, and this afternoon was a minor mistake, right?

The short, quick shower that I had planned was longer than I expected it to be. I wiped down and put on my house clothes, before I brushed through my hair in front of the bathroom mirror. The mirror reflected from my waist up, and in the back I could see what the window in back showed. The sky was now displaying dusk, as I pulled the towel through my hair once again, and jogged down the stairs.

Emmett was squeezed on the couch; his large figure seemingly found a way to fit on Charlie's normal-sized furniture. I walked to the armrest, and patted his shoulder.

"Hey." He didn't twitch or acknowledge my presence except for a curt nod that I would have missed, had I not been staring intensely for his reaction to what my greeting.

"Uh..." I stammered. "Did you...want to...watch something? A movie?" I added, finally remembering what I wanted to ask.

He did his nod again, that looked no more than an accident or a twitch, and the gesture started to agitate me a little. I dragged my feet to the kitchen, and pulled out a popcorn packet. The buttons beeped beneath my fingers, and I was tapping my fingers on the counter rapidly; I was nervous. I liked Emmett, but I didn't want this wall, that had been built up in the space of one minute, to ruin our friendship. The wall felt strangely solid, but I could see through it, like there was hope on the other end, and I didn't want to lose that. I looked back up to the microwave and there was still a minute and a half left.

I ran upstairs to the office to rummage through a dusty box nest to the small T.V. stand. I pulled out the DVD, the outer cover advertising that this classic had been "digitally remastered". Remastered or not, I loved the movie, and I wasn't sure if Emmett had watched it or not. I closed up the box, and jogged back downstairs, to find that Emmett hadn't budged. My feet slapped the floor, and he turned around, which surprisingly startled me. It looked like he had just noticed that I was there and it was a very..."human" type reaction.

"Hey," he offered first and I couldn't resist but smile. His previous stature had made me tense before, but his warming voice was a quick comfort. His fists balanced beneath him as he lowered himself to the ground at the feet of the couch, on the soft carpet. I strode to a lamp, and placed the disc into the DVD player, while simultaneously grabbing the DVD remote.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I pressed play, and set the remote next to Emmett on the ground.

"I have to go get that...um...be right back."

I stood up and strolled into the kitchen, grabbing a large bowl from the top cupboard, and I opened the door to the microwave. The smell of popcorn surrounded the kitchen, and the hot package was puffed. I pulled the ends emptying the contents into the bowl, and set it down on the counter. I took a light green plastic cup from the cabinet, and poured some Coca-Cola over loose ice cubes from the freezer. I brought the bowl and my cup back into the living room, and jogged back upstairs, to grab a large blanket from the closet. It was warm, and only as I was running back down the stairs, did I notice how cool it was.

I sat back at the foot of the couch next to Emmett on the carpet and set all of my stuff, so that I could watch the movie in peace. I pulled, from the couch behind me, four large pillows; two for me, and two for him. I set mine down, and pressed play on the DVD remote. The title flashed on the screen, followed by a teenage boy's voice, an actor we call Emilio Estevez.

I stared up at his face, waiting for his reaction. His expression remained puzzled, curious...like he was learning something new.

"Haven't you seen this before?" I pondered started to think he hadn't.

"No." He didn't sound in the least bit offended and he didn't pick up the hint from my question until about 10 whole seconds later. My jaw dropped, and I sat up to gawk at him. "Am I supposed to?" he asked, now seeming a teensy bit self-conscious.

I composed myself a little more, being sensitive to his answer. "You really haven't seen this movie before? It's a classic!" I added, a hint of unknown hysteria escaping from my throat, before he could repeat his answer.

"The...Breakfast Club?" He still looked confused, wondering if he was supposed to get something by saying the name after it had appeared not a minute earlier.

"This movie is from 1985! It was, and still is, mentioned by our generation. I can't believe you've never heard of it, let alone seen it." I was still amazed; I'd said all I thought I needed to say.

"Nope," he said; he was over guessing, and trying to retrieve a memory of the movie that he obviously had not seen.

"Wow..."

I pressed play again and we both settled in our spots next to the couch during the opening credits. I fell asleep towards the end of the movie, comfortable on the pillows in front of the TV. Emmett was near me, and his body temperature felt like it was radiating to me. I pulled the blanket up higher covering my arms and took a sip of my soda. Emmett was still watching the movie, and it was quiet in the room, with the lights dim.

"Hey...Bella...are you still up?"

My eyes were drooping closed, and my breathing was even before I answered.

"Mm-hmm..." my eyes still closed.

I pulled myself up to his height, even though he towered over me. His hand was behind my hand holding him up and I was leaning on him.

"Did you like the movie?" I asked groggily.

I felt his body shake from his soft nod. His hand was next to mine, and let my hand hold his. I was trying to find the words that he needed to hear, before I went to sleep.

"Emmett?" my small fingers danced on his large palm.

"Mmm?"

"Th-Thanks. For today," I added before he could ask.

"No problem," his voice sounded smooth.

I reached up to his cheek to give him a small kiss. He pulled his arms to my waist, and hugged me gently, afraid that he might crush me. I let my head rest on his collarbone, and for one second he felt warm. I looked up to his face, and he looked at me, with warm, butterscotch eyes. Impulsively, I reached up to kiss him at the corner of his mouth, and he kissed me back gently. He was inviting me in, and a part of me wanted to oblige, but I lowered myself and just lay there in his arms, as I drifted off to sleep.

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**A/N: Yay, the first day is finally over. This took me I think almost a week and a half or two weeks to write. School, friends, and writer's block were the culprits. Hopefully writer's block won't happen for the next chapter, and if it does, I'm really sorry! I'll try to update as soon as I can, when I'm free, and when I'm not juggling school work, family stuffs, and friend stuffs. :) Hope you like it so far, guys!**


	2. Another FREAKING Author's Note, I Know

**I know, I know, I hate these Author's notes. Especially if a story is on alert and I am waiting for a long time, to find the author just babbling mindlessly about anything. ANYWAYS... **

**I just wanted to say that I am sorry about how long it is taking me to write Chapter 2.**

But I promise it will be decent, and fingers crossed hopefully good. Finals are coming up and I am suffering a VERY bad case of writer's block, so blame that. 

**I have so much schoolwork to think about, and I can't wait for summer to come back. I NEED it, really.**

**Anyways, expect less fluff and more controversy to strike in this very short oneshot. I love Emmett with Bella and everything, but this episode really helps Bella to realize who her true love is. In other words, I want Edward back.**

**No more spoilers, just yet. But thanks for reading and for the reviews. Oh and BTW, I won't update if I have no reviews.**

**Even if I have the chapter good and ready, I won't publish it without a decent amount of reviews, so pull up the old "Review" Window, dust it off, and give me a little more to use. I give, you give, and I give back. See this cycle?? I prefer it much more.**

**I will update my profile on the status of the chapter, but remember, no reviews, no chapter. Sorry!!! So REVIEW:)**


	3. Chapter2:Whirlpools & Gummy Bears

**AN: Sorry it took so long. Not much fluff. But this isn't a filler chapter either. Um, Read and REVIEW!!!! I'm not asking I'm telling/encouraging. I personally think this a cute chapter, but that's just me. again review, and happy reading. BTW, if you don't understand something make sure you REREAD! as much as you have to. I tried to make this concise and short but,to-the-point, but it's so very hard when you guys are asking me to hurry with the chapters. Sorry. 3 :)**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon, the books mentioned in this fic, and the places mentioned. The characters at these locations are also based upon fiction. :)_ BTW, read ending _Disclaimer_, that way I don't give away any spoilers before the story begins.

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Chapter 2: Whirlpools, and Gummy Bears

My eyelids were closed and heavy from the night. I opened them unwillingly to be floating above the sea, but the scared feeling that was supposed to heat in my gut didn't come. My feet were firmly on the ground that ended, just above the drop to breaking waves at merciless rocks. I was on a cliff, but again, the twinge of fear, at this realization, that would normally have yanked my body, and gathered in my throat was absent. My hair whipped in the wind, and made it difficult to see across. The shore of the beach that this cliff overlooked was very familiar and was littered with tide pools at the ocean's edge. I'd been here before, but part of the vision was fuzzy, and distorted.

I felt arms wrap around my waist and pull me close to a cool body. I closed my eyes again, breathing in the fresh air, waiting for his scent to reach my nostrils. I felt his chin lower to rest against my head above my ear. I smiled, opening my eyes, even though the scent was absent, much like the feeling of strangeness in being here. I'd never been here at sunset, before, so I focused away from the cliff and shore. I felt relaxed, and at ease, his arms protecting me, my eyes settling with the warm sunset colors dancing on the wind. Pinks, yellows, and oranges, presented a pleasurable phenomena that made me sigh with release.

"Bella..." the voice was rougher, not the velvet voice I had recognized. It was not the voice that tickled my ears and sent my heart into rapid unsteady rhythms. No, this voice was deeper, and it sounded pleading. It scared me; I nearly froze in place. I turned to face he who voiced my name.

"Ed--mmett? What? What happened?" I tried to pull his arms from around my waist frantically; the fear that hadn't kicked in earlier crashed through my insides. I glanced back, lip quivering, at the edge of the cliff. It was so close. He let go of me, but stayed close. For once in my life, I saw a scared expression on his face, and it was no longer painted with humor as I was accustomed to. "What? What's wrong?" My throat started to close in on me, and it became hard to breathe. I tried to cough, but no sound came out, and Emmett looked down at me placing his right hand on my shoulder.

"Edward's...gone..." his voice quiet, and his words faint and broken.

I deliberately stepped back from him. "What? What do you mean? Emmett! Emmett!" I took another large step back to look at his face and felt myself falling from the cliff.

"Edward! Emmett! Alice! Help!" I could hear myself scream in my head. My hands clasped around my neck trying desperately to unravel the invisible cords that grasped at my throat preventing me from making a sound. I seemed to fall endlessly into nothing, and everything in the world. I didn't understand what Emmett had said about Edward, but the look on his face didn't convince me too much. I felt like I was being sucked into a whirlpool, constructed of my own feelings, and the environment around me that felt too surreal to be reality. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see how or where I would end up, or what would take me in this world of another plane and dimension.

Two strong hands clamped around my shoulders, shaking me. I let my eyelids whip open to see a very disoriented-looking Emmett kneeling above me with a bewildered expression on his face. I groaned and rubbed my eyes.

"Bella! Bella...Bella, are you okay?"

"Ye-yes! Yeah! I'm okay! I'm fine," I managed to stutter and the forceful shaking ceased. I sat up, hacked a couple of times, the burning on my throat slowly, but surely, dissipating, and ran my hands over my face and through my hair. The windows were illuminated, and Emmett looked deeply puzzled next to me. "Oh, God," I muttered quietly, as I rubbed my temples, looking away from him, imagining what he had seen or heard. _It was only a dream_, I sighed, _it was only a dream_.

"What happened?" Emmett questioned, with a hint of fear in his voice. Caught up in my own thoughts, playing the dream of me falling in my head, my hearing was muggy.

"What? What did you say?" my speech a bit slurred. I looked up to him with eyes glazed from sleep.

"You...you were yelling. You were calling for me...and Edward, and you sounded like you were in pain," he stated, his eyes staring into a place far from here; he was recounting what he had seen. At this point, his voice took a frantic edge to it. "You were squirming, moving, and kept grabbing your throat. I tried to wake you up, but you...just couldn't hear me or something...and...and only until I shook you did you stop," his rant ended, leaving a silence stirring.

Wow, I thought, I didn't think I'd become _that_ active in my sleep. My eyes squinted at the brightness of the new day, and the light that poured in from the windows lit the entire house, the source just behind him. His hand inched onto mine, and I let it stay there. His gesture was meant to be full of comfort, but I hadn't absorbed one ounce of it.

"Just a...bad dream, I guess," I lied, trying to sound convincing; it was a _horrible_ dream. "What time is it?" I asked trying to throw the subject to the winds; I didn't want to discuss it out loud, more or less with Emmett, who acted as the "villain" in said dream.

He blinked at me, looking for more reason. "It's, uhh..." he glanced at his expensive watch. "...10:32. Why?"

"Oh, my gosh! I have to get ready!!" I said, as I pulled my hand out from under Emmett's chilling one, and stood up quickly. I smoothed the wrinkles from my pajama bottoms, and grabbed the blanket from the ground. "Emmett, could you do me a favor?" I asked, which was kind of rude, considering I had been leaving him out of the blue since I woke up to his frightened expressions. "Could you fix the couch cushions, please? I have to get ready." He sighed deeply and grabbed the cushions from the carpet as I ran upstairs to brush my teeth.

I brushed quickly, grabbing the hand towel and wiping the wet away from my mouth on the way out of the bathroom, my eyes registering to the light of the new day. I snatched the brush from the counter and pulled out the tangles while walking back to my room. I pulled on comfortable clothes, stuffed my phone, wallet, iPod, and keys into a purse that I had rarely used and looked back at the clock. The minute hand indicated it was 10:56.

I pulled a loose jacket over my clothes and slung my purse over my shoulder; it didn't surprise me that yesterday was a beautiful, rainless day in Forks, and the very next day, it was cold and misty. I tied my hair at the nape of my neck to get it out of the way, and ran back downstairs to find Emmett lounging on the couch. As soon as my foot hit the ground beneath the last stair, he shot up and appeared in front of my face. He had a worried expression painted over his eyes and I tried not to look at him. For some reason, his concern irritated me, and I focused on the front door, more eager to see Jacob by the minute.

"What is it?"

"I was just...Bella, I'm sorry, but I'm concerned about you. You looked so...in pain earlier. I just need to know that you're okay." He finished with a hopeful stare, that same stare that scared me in the nightmare, and it pierced my eyes as I looked back at him regretfully. I heard Jacob's car pull up in the driveway. I'm sure he heard it, but he didn't dare look away. I took a step back.

"I'm fine, Emmett. Like I said, it was only a bad dream. Don't worry about it. I have to go, Jacob's here. Bye."

I left Emmett standing at the foot of the stairs watching me close the front door on him. I turned back around to find Jake in an older car; it looked like it was from the 1950's or 60's. He was a sophomore-to-be, and probably much too young to drive, but you couldn't tell by looking at him; he was huge. His faded white shirt pulled against his muscles, in contrast to his russet skin tone, but it had a natural look to it. His hair was ruffled slightly and he was wearing a pair of washed-out jeans. I walked up to the passenger seat door where the window was rolled down, and his eyes met mine when a smile played on his lips.

"Hey, Bella. You ready to go?" he asked politely, his voice husky.

"Mm-hmm. Let's go," I replied, as I slid into the seat and closed the door next to me.

We backed out of the driveway, and I glanced back at the window. In a flourish of curtains, I could swear I saw Emmett disappear behind them. I turned back to face Jacob who looked relaxed at the wheel, trying to forget about the man in the window and decided a conversation would be much more interesting than beating myself up internally about yesterday.

"Uhh, so where are we going exactly?"

"Seattle." He stated vaguely.

"Seattle?" I repeated, wanting to know more, and wanting him to talk.

"Yup, Seattle. There's a really nice theatre out there at a mall called Pacific Place, and there're restaurants, so we can have dinner. Are you hungry?"

"Just a little, I woke up late and forgot to eat breakfast." I smiled weakly, a trifle embarrassed.

"Alright, then we can eat first and catch a movie after."

"Okay." I started to drum my fingers, excited about the day ahead, agitated by the silence that had fallen, and anxious, yet happy that Edward should be back tomorrow, all emotions taking their toll at the same time. I joined my hands together to stop the drumming; Jacob hadn't seen my fingers and I was glad that he wasn't a vampire; he would have been able to see it, and I would have been interrogated with endless questions.

"So," I pulled my hand through my hair. "How are things in La Push?"

"Uh," he said, his eyes focused on the road. "Well, my dad doesn't work, and neither do I, yet, so things are moving pretty slow at home. Nothing new has happened. That's why I needed to get out, and that's also part of the reason why I agreed to come back with my dad to Forks." He took the silence that followed. "But I also wanted to see you, too. So it worked out okay, I guess," he added politely. I blushed slightly; he was sweet.

He reached across, with one hand on the wheel, to the radio and turned up the volume, letting an alternative song fill the car and silence the light drizzle outside; he stretched his right arm across the back of the seat next to my shoulder. I set my purse and jacket down on the small seat between us. It was different riding in the car with Jacob; usually during the day, I would be driven or taken around by the one of the Cullens - they pretty much refused to let me drive - and I liked the speed that Jake drove at. It was relaxing.

"So how'd you find...Pacific Place, was it?"

"Pacific Place," he nodded as he confirmed. "Um, my friends from school drove us out there on one of our...long weekends from school."

"You're friend?" I raised my eyebrows. "What _friend_ would this be?"

He seemed to notice the suspicion in my voice, that I figured he was too young to be driven in a car by other freshmen.

"My _friend_," he laid the word heavily, jokingly, and in the same tone as mine. "...goes to my school. He's a junior, don't worry."

He smiled at me, and I smiled back; the suspicious tone seemed quite silly; it sounded like I wanted to protect Jake, and, in reality, I'd be better off protecting a sky scraper.

It took about fours until we entered Seattle's limits. It was about 3:15, according to Jacob's wristwatch. We pulled into a large parking lot of a huge building; the stores must've run about three or four floors high. It was still light out, summer, but businesses were bright with attracting lights. We parked and I pulled my jacket across my back as Jake exited the car. He pulled open the door and helped me out of the car, as he put his arm around my shoulder protectively and we walked to the entrance of the mall.

Inside, the rooms were buzzing with everyone's overlapping conversations. I could spot about two bookstores, four designer outlets, and one Italian restaurant/café, before Jake spoke and we stopped next to a lounge area.

"So what do you want to eat?"

"Um..." I used the pause between us to look around again. "There." I pointed to the Italian restaurant. "Il...For-nai-o," I sounded it out. "Il Fornaio. Would you want to eat an early dinner?" I looked back up at Jacob.

"Sure," he gestured towards the hostess, sitting on a chair behind a podium. She was a brunette, with a brown apron on, and she was tall, shorter than Jacob, of course, but taller than me, anyway.

"Welcome to Il Fornaio Risotteria. Walk-in for two?" she asked politely, with a tired expression, yet warming smile on her face.

"Yes, please," Jacob answered in the same manner, and she led us to a small table next to a short shelf of flower arrangements. The room was dimly lit, but it had a warm essence to the furnishings. It felt like I had been immersed in an Italian country mirage. I'd never been in a place like this; the pink, purple, and white flowers actually looked real. I inhaled the scents: fresh French bread, tomato sauce, garlic, and freesia. I looked closely at the flowers; they _were_ real.

Jake pulled out my seat and my jacket, to set it on the back of my chair, and strode over to his own seat. I set my folded hands on the table and smiled back at Jacob who looked endearingly over at me.

"Thanks, Jake. This place is beautiful." I inhaled the room's aroma much more openly in front of Jacob and he smiled at me and nodded.

The woman returned with a basket of cheese-covered breadsticks, two menus, and two glasses of ice. She set the menus in front of us as she placed the glasses down and poured water from the pitcher.

"Hello, my name is Jenny, and I will be your server for this afternoon. Would you two like anything to drink?" She looked at the both of us, I shook my head, "No thank you," and Jake sipped his water.

"Actually, what fountain drinks do you have available?" Jacob asked.

"We have cola, lemon-lime, and we also have iced tea."

"Coca-cola would be fine, thank you," Jacob answered the woman. She nodded her head politely and left the table.

I moved my water and pulled a cheesy breadstick from the basket between us. I nibbled on the breadstick as I perused the menu, which was full of Italian words I didn't know the meaning of. I read the description of a dish called "Tagliolini con Pollo", which had ribbon pasta, chicken, and mushrooms, with a white cream sauce. The woman returned to our table with Jacob's coke, a set of sewn napkins, utensils, and a plate for the both of us. Why did they sew the napkins if they were just going to get dirty and thrown away?

She looked at me patiently and I handed her the menu.

"May I have the...Tagliolini con Pollo, please?" I sounded the word out as best I could.

"Anything else to drink with that, madam?"

"The iced tea, please. Thank you." She jotted down my order on her small black notebook in hand. She turned to face Jacob.

"You, sir?"

"I'll have the same, thank you. I'll just drink this," he gestured toward his glass full of ice and soda.

"Alright," she chuckled warmly, as she scribbled down the second order. "Your dinner will be ready soon. Have a good afternoon." And she left the table once again.

"So," Jacob started. "What did you want to watch?"

"How about...a scary movie?"

"A scary movie," he repeated after me; it wasn't a question, he just wanted to hear how it sounded when he said it himself.

"Yes. Something that'll get me to jump in my seat." I joked.

"Well, a scary movie it is then."

I smiled and blushed back at him.

"I also wanted to stop at a bookstore before we leave. My good books are falling apart." _And_ I kind of didn't want to return to Emmett, either, although I didn't think that Emmett would still be hanging around the house after all this time.

"Sure," he shrugged. "It's not everyday you get to go to Seattle."

I smiled and finished the breadstick. After about 10 minutes of waiting and conversation, the waitress brought back two white plates with pasta that looked more delicious than the description on the menu. She also brought a jar with parmesan cheese and my iced tea in a glass.

"Thank you," Jake and I said at the same time.

"You're very welcome. Anything else for the couple?" She joked.

"Oh, no, we're not--"

"We're not a--"

Jake and I started at the same time, and I stared at each other in silence. Jacob spoke up first to answer her question.

"No, thank you."

"Alright, then." She obviously hadn't seen or recognized the awkwardness that just took place over our dinner table, and left us together again.

"Um, thanks Jake, for everything. For tonight. This looks great." I fished for ribbon pasta with my fork, after setting a napkin on my lap.

We both ate in silence, and she brought the check back after we finished our meals.

"Will you be paying with cash or credit?"

"Credit." I answered, before Jacob could.

He looked at me, questioningly and a smile pulled up the corners of my mouth. I unzipped my purse, pulled out my light green wallet, and took out the thin, plastic credit card.

She took it from my hand, nodded slightly, and had an expression like this was "normal business", even though I knew both she and Jake were surprised that I had a credit card in the first place. She returned to our table with the receipt, my card, and a "Good evening to you both", before Jacob and I got up to leave.

He put his arm back around me, and we left the restaurant to find that the mall was even more populated than it was before. I looked at Jacob's watch, on the wrist that rested just below my shoulder. It was 4:15 pm, and the light from outside illuminated the mall from the transparent windows in the ceiling. The theatre was on the top floor, and the sign donned "Pacific Place Cinema".

We entered the clear elevator, and before the doors closed, a mother and a little girl, maybe at the age of 5 or 6, with a balloon and string tied to her right wrist. Jacob's arm left my shoulder and I straightened the purse on my shoulder. The doors opened to a black carpet with a small wall of tellers waiting to give out tickets for the advertised movies.

Jacob left my side to go to the teller on the far right. He probably didn't want me to pay again. At this point, I didn't care; I was too fixed on seeing everything in the mall and remembering it. The happy faces of children eating popcorn and cotton candy sticky on their hands, married couples holding each other as they left the theatre, and middle school girlfriends walking together away from the concession stand.

"Bella..." Jacob waved the tickets in front of my face, and I left my trance.

"Huh? Oh." I took my ticket, and Jacob proceeded to put his arm on my shoulders again as he led me to the darkened theater.

The theatre wasn't packed full as I thought it would be; actually the room was half empty. Jacob and I took a seat towards the back in a section that was almost deserted. There was an elderly couple at the end of our row, and most of the people around my age were seated at the front of the theatre. While the previews were showing, Jake stood up.

"Did you want anything?"

"Gummy bears?" I asked a note of embarrassment in my tone.

He chuckled slightly. "Sure. Be right back."

The movie started out sappy, and Jacob was climbing the stairs back up. The opening credits shone as he took his seat and handed me the gummy bear package.

The story was the same - a small family bought a "dream house" in a small town that was haunted, and no one told them beforehand. Their daughter was disturbed by the spirits in her room, and their only escape was to talk to the spirits, make peace, and escape to live somewhere else. Jacob's arm was protectively on the back of my seat, at the ready for any sudden outburst of fear from me. None came, and the movie was over before I was even interested.

"So, Bella, did you like the movie?" Jacob asked as we left the cinema, and entered the elevator.

"Um, it was okay," I tried to convince him with a lie. My fib was too obvious, he laughed at me. "What?" I asked getting unreasonably self-conscious, starting to dryly laugh myself.

"The movie was boring, I'm sorry," he said, his quiet laughter starting to subside.

"No, that's alright. Let's just go to the bookstore. Is it on the first floor?"

"I think that there is one down there."

He pushed the metal button that shown a bright gold "1" and the doors closed, leaving us alone in the elevator. We exited the elevators as it came to a stop, and walked towards the bright bookstore. The shelves were stuffed full of books; children's books, novels, series, magazines, and there was a café inside. The whole store was quite large, and it looked comfortable.

I walked straight towards the heavy-looking novels, and came across a smaller one entitled, The Glass Lake by Maeve Benchy. I was taken by the description on the back, and continued to look at the descriptions of the novels on the back covers of the books. I narrowed my query down to two books: the first I grabbed, The Glass Lake, and A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson. I paid for my books and Jacob followed me out, not buying anything.

We reached the car at about 6:45 pm, and Jake led me into the car.

"Um, Jake?"

"Hmm?"

"I have to call Charlie and tell him that we're on our way home. He must be on his way home from the fishing trip."

"Okay," he said and closed the door softly.

I punched in Charlie's cell phone number, and Charlie's voice came from the other end.

"Bells?"

"Hi, Dad."

"Um, hi. Is something wrong?"

"No, I just needed to tell you that we were coming home now."

"We?"

"Yeah, Dad. I caught a movie with Jacob. But we're on our way home." At this point, Jacob had started the car up, and we were exiting the parking lot.

"A movie? Where?"

"Somewhere in Seattle. Pacific Place Mall." I tried for calm, but I was afraid he would blow up at me, and it showed in my voice.

"Oh. Seattle." He was trying to find a gentle way to say it, I could tell. "Okay. I'm, uh, glad you called me. Are you safe?"

"Yes, dad. I'm fine." Jacob mouthed it to me. "And Jacob said hello."

"Oh, tell him I said hi. Okay then, I'll see you at home."

"Bye," I said not sure if he heard me. I ended the call and sighed with release before facing Jacob. "He said hi back. By the way, when do you think we'll be home by?"

"Um," he looked at the radio's time. "I'd say about 9:30, maybe 10. Is that too late?"

"No, that's fine." I was tired; from the day, from the "mini road trip", and of being with Jake. He didn't talk much, but that wasn't a problem. I lay my head on the back of the seat and my eyelids slowly lowered. I didn't get into a deep sleep, thank God, but I was still tired. I felt a hand grasp my shoulder, and I had a sore memory of this morning, of last night's dream, and, of course, Emmett.

"Bella..." a gentle, slightly husky voice sounded. "Bella, we're here. Wake up..."

I opened my eyes to see that night had fallen, and we were in his car, in my neighborhood. His kind face shone in front of my own, and he was sure that I was awake as I stretched in the car. He left his seat, slammed his door shut, and opened my door behind me. He grasped my right arm and I responded by sitting up, following his lead. I stood up on the sidewalk, and, behind me, Jake closed my door, and wrapped my jacket around me. I turned back to face him.

"Thanks," I blushed. "For everything. I'm glad I got to go out. It was fun," I ended lamely. He smiled anyway.

"No problem. I liked it, too...and I'm glad you had fun."

"Well, bye, Jacob."

"Bye, Bella," he gathered me into a warm hug that lasted a few seconds, and let go.

He left to his door, and waved before he got in and started the car. His car left off slowly, and his headlights left around the corner. I stood there until he was out of sight, and walked back to the front door. The cool night air brushed against my cheeks, and the lampposts were faintly lit. As I walked up to the door, I noticed that the window curtains that held close to the living room was a soft blue light dancing; the T.V. must have been on.

I unlocked the door to find that Charlie had waited up for me, but his sleep took over; he was snoring in his favorite armchair. I turned off the T.V., and pulled off my jacket as I walked into the kitchen. I brought out a glass and filled it with water. The icy liquid filled my cheeks, and trickled down my throat, burning and chilling it at the same time.

I ran up to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. I left my bags in the bathroom without going to my room first and took a warm shower. I brushed my hair quickly pulling the tangles out, the weariness of sleep urging me to get to my bed. With a robe wrapped around my body, I grabbed my bags into my room and put on a fresh set of pajamas. I didn't bother to flip the light switch on, and I slung my jacket onto the chair at my desk. I put the bags and purse on my desk; I could put it all away in the morning. I turned around to grab my blanket --

"Hi..." A velvet voice brushed my eyelashes so quickly, I tripped on his shoe, and Edward's arms pulled me back up to face him in less than a second; my reflexes were abysmal. He laughed at my effort to regain my composure.

"Hi..." I said weakly, visions of me at the lake and of me hugging Jake clouded my mind. 'Hi' was all I could say at this point. His arms wrapped around my waist and I looked into his eyes helplessly.

"So...how was your day?" He asked with gleaming, warm golden eyes, and a smile that flashed his perfect white teeth.

"Good. I went to a movie," I said, matter-of-factly.

"I heard," he said in the same manner as my own. "How was it?"

"Boring, for the most part. But I bought two books at Barnes and Noble."

"Why didn't you take _me_?" he asked jokingly.

"_Because_, you were out, and _I_ was invited. That a crime?" I asked trying to play along.

"When another _guy_ is out with _my_ girl, it becomes one." He stated, the joking tone was still present in his voice.

"Jake's a family friend. You know that." A hint of accusation was in my voice. "Didn't you?"

"Yes, Bella," he started to laugh. "It was only a joke," he lifted me up and carried me to the bed to set me down. "Why are you so tense anyway?" Oh, crap, he sensed it.

"I'm not tense," I breathed in deeply and let it out. "I'm fine, I'm just tired."

He lay me down and pulled a blanket over me. He was on his side, while one hand held him up and the other was playing with my fingers.

"Did you miss me?"

I closed my eyes and breathed in the cool night air. "Yes. A lot."

"Good," his voice coaxed my relaxation and tranquil state.

I felt his stony, cold lips push against my cheekbone below my eye and my eyelids flew open in surprise. He led kisses down my jaw line, kisses that left a burning and ice cold feeling in my throat. His most sensual kiss stopped at the hollow at the bottom of my throat. I felt like my heart was going to rip of out my chest, it was beating at such rhythms. His trail led back up my throat to my mouth and I could feel my eyes close again in pleasure. He pressed around the edges of my mouth and finally his lips joined my own.

My hands explored his back as I pulled him into a warm embrace and kissed him deeply. I broke the kiss, maybe out of exhaustion and maybe out of guilt, but he didn't object to my release. His arms held me close, and once again, I lost consciousness to night in a Cullen's arms, except for this time, he was the one I wanted to be with and the one I needed to be with, forever.

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**AN: Hope you guys like the way the story is going. There should only be one more chapter left. But thanks for waiting for this one. :)**

_2nd Disclaimer: I don't own the people mentioned in this fic, such as Jenny, the server, and if there is a server named Jenny who works at Il Fornaio in Seattle, then sorry, I didn't mean you. :) But anyways, this should be the last part of the disclaimer...oh yeah!! I do own the alternate universe where this story takes place...if you could call it an alternate universe. thanks for reading guys!!!_

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!  
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	4. IMPORTANT READ PLEASE, KThnx

**Need more reviews.**

**Entries such as "Update please" and "OMG it's so good" are all really nice...but they don't help me in furthering the story.**

**Two more days left of school and I can start continuing this fic on..checks calendar 5/24. Only two days from now; I haven't even started and this week is major exams week.**

**I would be more excited, but usually reviews help to stimulate more ideas. So when you give a review, here are some suggestions: ask, "Do you think Edward will find out?" or "I think that Emmett (or Bella) should...", etc, etc.**

**Now if you want the third chapter, I'm going to need your help, guys. Feedback, flames, all are acceptable. Inappropriate-ness isn't but I'm sure you've got the gist of this message--I need MORE reviews! Not only for my sake, but the sake of the FANFIC!**

**KThnx. I really have no idea where this story will go so I guess...it's up to you guys.**

**DropsOfTwilight**


	5. Chapter3:Pajama Pants & Broken Doors

**A/N: Okay, here would be the last chapter. Believe me, I've been anxious and waiting for this, too.** **I attempted to make this chapter decent for you guys. Hope you like it. If you don't flames are welcome again; but nothing inappropriate. For now, this story is Complete--but that may change; most likely not, but anyways, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! and again, just for my entertainment, I think you must review. :)**

_Disclaimer: Not owned by me, as in my other chapters._

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Chapter 3: Pajama Pants and Broken Bedroom Doors 

I had had no dreams last night; at least, none that I remember. Not even a sliver of the previous night's dream came to mind until now. I felt uncomfortable; I knew my night was a rocky one. Edward came back. He had no idea about me and Emmett -- at least I hoped he didn't. I felt like breaking down crying, the heavy lead weight at my gut and stomach pulling me into a groggy lapse. The light outside the windows were bright, the beams spilling through the nearly-see-through curtains. I wanted to move, but I had a stiff neck. The room was so quiet and so still, like solid block ice.

I looked down at my waist to find his arm wrapped securely around it. At this point, it felt cold, and it was hard to find comfort in his arms, knowing that a mental feud was taking place in my head. I didn't want to over-think things; it would be unlike me. I pulled his stone cold hand into mine, and turned my body to face him. He stirred and pulled his arm from my hand, while I brought his face into focus and smiled at his perfect features. I found it hard to look at him straight in the eyes and lowered my eyelids, hoping that he wouldn't see the hurt, shame, and embarrassment in them; and maybe, just maybe, my tear ducts wouldn't insist on filling to the point that I couldn't take it anymore.

I deliberately scooted away from him on the bed, and felt like I was going to blow everything, everything that I had worked for. There was a monster that stood behind, tugging at my insides, leaving me feeling lethargic. I pulled my knees to my chest and concentrated my focus on the warm-toned floorboards that lined the ground. The sunlight formed creatures dancing against the grain of wood, and I elected to follow them, to hold out from any questioning that Edward would throw my way.

"Bella?" No! That was just _too_ easy; it was like he could hear what I was thinking. My hands started to sweat at how the gravity of _that_ particular situation would diagnose me with a nervous breakdown.

I didn't answer him; I could feel the tears about to brim at the edge of my lids, and focused intently on the sunlit creatures on the flooring next to my trash bin. He shifted on the bed, and instantaneously, my peripheral vision told me that he was sitting right in front of me. I lowered my knees to sit cross-legged and let my arms rest on my lap. It was now a struggle to keep my eyes away from him.

"Be--Bella?" he repeated, now curious and his voice worried. I opened my mouth and closed it again, at a loss of how to start off the conversation, and thinking of the consequences of any conversation with Edward. His voice grew impatient.

"What's wrong?" he sounded a tad bit antsy, and his displeasure made me want to cry even more than before. I took a deep breath, letting the cool air fill my lungs, and exhaled softly, my stomach starting to ache. My tongue felt like it was swelling in my mouth and I wanted to speak but the words came out strained.

"I...Edward, I..." I stopped abruptly, the ache in my mouth and stomach working against my brain.

"Yes?" he urged, the impatience clear in his voice, and I could almost feel his face become ashamed at his interrogations.

"I..." my stomach growled as I looked up to only meet his jaw line, and steered clear, again, of his eyes. I felt my throat pull me back again, but this time, the pain was physical, and I could taste a bitter substance crawling up my throat and it all happened so fast. "I...think...I'm gonna be sick," I managed to voice, while trying to push Edward out of my way.

I ran my way to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I keeled over the toilet and threw up the remains of last night as visions of Jacob with his arm over my shoulder and of Emmett holding me close in the lake sent a headache and dizziness to my head. I wiped away the sweat from my forehead and strained to pull myself up towards the sink. The acid was burning my throat and cheeks and a feeling of déjà vu reminded me of the nightmare.

I closed my eyes, trying to force such thoughts to the back of my head, and turned on the faucet to wash my mouth out and brush my teeth. I wiped my face with the hand towel, trying to breathe normally, and turned the faucet to the left. I wiped the last of the water from my face and stared into the mirror. My hair was disheveled; my skin seemed to be paler than normal, while the garish graying bags beneath my eyes hinted that I might have aged 30 years overnight. My appearance was, in a way, saddening and disappointing, and the lead weight seemed to have lessened the load. There was a knock at the door.

"Bella, are you all right?" Edward's voice sounded from behind the weak wall of wood separating us. If I had fallen or hurt myself, this white door would never stand a chance to Edward's admirable superhuman strength, but he's much too considerate to break it down to get to me. He chose to be polite and stayed outside the door.

"I'm fine," I lied, in a moderate tone, as if he was standing right next to me, knowing he'd clearly hear my fib. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Are you...sure...?" he asked, his voice thick with hesitation, and I was not familiar with this side of him. I reached for the door knob and opened it to find Edward's perfect features tainted with worry. I stepped back, startled, to get a clear look at his face; his beauty still managed to astonish me. I let myself look into his eyes, and I could feel my throat start up again, and my tear ducts filled to their optimum volume without any of them leaving my eyes.

His face was comforting, and he had no reason to be sad for me. I had done him wrong, and I couldn't take much of it anymore. How long would it be before Emmett thought about our mistake? How long would it be before Edward was within a mile radius of Alice? Had she seen what happened? I needed to get back to her, I needed to get to Jacob. A part of me needed Emmett, but what part? I looked back to him, washing the mirage away and before I could stop it, my eyes were flushed with my tears spilling over my cheeks. I didn't want to whine, I just wanted to hold him. I wanted to make him know that it was a mistake and that I couldn't lie to him. That the last thing I wanted to do was lie to him, and go behind his back. Would he understand? Would he hate me forever? I needed him to know that I was sorry, and that I would never let it happen again. My chest shuddered and tears spilled over my cheeks, as I gasped for breath and his arms grasped around my trembling body.

"I...can't..." I managed in between hard sobs. I tried to take his arms from around my waist, and he pulled away but only slightly.

"But, Bel--"

"No..." I cut him off and fought for breath; the tears kept coming. "I..." I slowly pulled his fingers from my sides, and looked up to his face. He looked as if he wanted to cry along with me, but I had to push him away right now. "...Can't..." I stepped back and shut the door on him.

I pulled a fluffy thick yellow towel from the supply shelves. We never used these towels, they were for guests, and took forever to dry in the dryer. I pulled open the shower curtain and stepped in with my socks on. I sat down, plugged the drain and lay down. The tears seemed endless. I pulled the big blanket-like towel over me and stared up at the ceiling. I wasn't too worried about Jacob; he didn't do anything wrong. All of this was my fault and my fault alone. I needed, secondly, to talk to Emmett, to apologize to him for everything I did wrong, and for putting him in this predicament. My acts were selfish, and I regretted every minute of our offense at this point, and hated myself for being so stupid and irresponsible. How could I have let this happen?

The tears started to dissipate at this point, and most of the tears on my cheeks had dried cold. Edward's voice started to play in my head, and I wished that sleep would overtake me but his voice reigned.

"_When another guy is out with my girl, it becomes one..._"

"_Goodbye.._."

The one thing I needed right now at this point was for him to hold me, but I couldn't face him. I wasn't as strong as I needed to be. Even though I felt like my acts were portraying the words of an old love song, my eyelids drooped anyway, and I fell asleep with a lone tear still present on my cheek.

**A/N: Okay, here the story changes to Edward's point of view. I really hate changing the standpoint, but I found no other way of getting this next crucial part into the story without changing to Edward's say. So sorry, and I hope you like it so far.**

Edward's POV:

I wasn't sure what was wrong; did I do something? I didn't want to hurt her, and I felt sure that I would if I just barged in. Bella... I felt weak, and nervous, and anxious. I didn't want her to be hurting, and me out here not able to comfort her.

The crying started to abate, and I couldn't hear much of her whimpering anymore. Oh, how I needed to hold her! To protect her from what seems to scare her and what seems to hurt her so much. Her breathing had become even now, and the whimpering subsided, as well.

I stood up from the ground outside the door, and eased open the door, nervous as when the door opened, her heart beat started up like conga drums, and then slowed again as the door closed. I let my eyes rest on her beautiful face, her cheeks stained with tears, and her nose cherry red. She looked so fragile in the bathtub curled up with the thick towel. The edge of the towel near her face was almost completely laden with her tears, and her skin was pale. Her eyes seemed to stir beneath her eyelids, and she was angelic even in the simple act of sleeping; to her, anyways.

I wished for the privilege of sleep for much too long now. The want seemed to settle as the years went by, but watching her now, so peaceful, and so serene, the want for sleep hit me in the back quickly. I wanted to pick her up and hold her in my arms forever, to protect her from everything and anything that came her way. In a way, I wished I could leave again, to protect her from me, but I couldn't do that to her. Not again. Not for her, and not for me.

She moaned softly and her whole body stirred, while in a fraction of a second, I had exited the bathroom, and slowly closed the door on her. Her breathing mounted and then returned to normal, as she was changing her sleeping position. I flipped open the silver phone from my pocket.

Alice's number was on speed-dial; not really beneficial to me, as any number I dialed would be "dialed with speed" anyway. I kept my voice low, almost to a whisper, even though I knew Alice would be able to hear me, and Bella wouldn't. The phone on the other line clicked, as she answered it.

"Yes?"

"Alice, I need you."

"Doesn't everyone," she said as I heard her close the front door, and just as fast, Carlisle's car door open.

"No, I'm serious. I...need your help."

"With?"

"Bella. Just hurry."

"All right," I heard the car start up over the phone, and rev under Alice's shoe.

The phone clicked, and she was gone. I could hear the car from about 10 blocks away, and started to get even more anxious. What had I done wrong? What was it? I stood up, and started pacing in front of the door--I couldn't help it, and Alice's car seemed about 3 blocks away now. I rubbed my temples and continued pacing in front of the bathroom door, racking my brain for any wrongdoing that I had done to her.

"Bella..." I said softly, nervous at the insecurity I could hear in my voice. It sounded like I was calling for, but a part of me really didn't want her to hear, for fear that I was the sole reason for her unexpected grief.

The front door opened to let in too much light from sunrise, and Alice appeared at the door. She ran up the stairs, and had her hand on the bathroom door handle. I put mine on hers and prevented her from going in. She looked up at me, puzzled. I shook my head ever so slightly, telling her no.

_What is it?_ She asked me through her thoughts.

"She's upset. And she's sleeping," I whispered quietly, even though no one was around, afraid that I might wake Bella up.

_So, what do you want me to do? Do you want to just wait for her?_

I thought about this for a minute. I was desperate, but I couldn't have Alice wake her up -- I didn't want to aggravate her further.

I disregarded her question and motioned for Alice to sit down with me, again in front of the bathroom door. She sat down, cross-legged, and still she looked at me, mystified as to the reason of why I called her over here, only to have her sit down. I stood up, paced a few steps, and thought about how to address the problem with my sister. It took me almost a "human minute" until she crowded my thoughts with her impatience.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked without bothering to communicate through thoughts.

"Shh! Okay," my voice got as low as was possible. "Bella woke up this morning, looking pale as ever--even more pale than usual. She's usually so eager to wake up, with the exception of this morning. I asked her what was wrong and she didn't answer, left to the bathroom, and got 'sick'. Again, I asked her what was wrong, and she wouldn't answer me. She looked sad, like she was grieving, like I might have hurt her, in some way."

"Weren't you gone, though?"

"That's just it. Even though I wasn't here something or someone hurt her. I should have been here; I should've never left. But her face; she looked the same. The same as...the night that... night that I...left her." Alice said nothing. She just looked into my eyes and tried to reflect a look of comfort, but I was much too aggravated and anxious to accept it. "So, do you...know anything...?"

She had a concentrated look on her face, and soon her eyes drooped closed; she was having a vision. I hopelessly and desperately let myself peek into her thoughts, and saw what she saw.

_Emmett and Bella were in Emmett's room, Rosalie nowhere to be found. It was dark out, and Bella had the same look on her face while facing Emmett._

"_What is it, Bella? What's wrong?" Emmett brought his arms around Bella and she cried into his chest._

"_I'm sorry," she cried. "I can't do it. I can't face him. Help me."_

"_Edward's going to be mad, I know, but you have to tell him. You have to...we have to make him understand that it was a mistake. Ask that he forgive us."_

_Emmett reached down to kiss Bella on the lips... End vision._

It felt like my chest heated up, and I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt her. I wanted to inflict the agitation and hurt from me, and the pain and grief from Bella's eyes on him. With the effort I had I would. I looked over at Alice to see her rubbing her right temple, and surfacing from the effects of the vision. She looked at me, with a scared expression clouding her face.

"Edward...? Don't...please." She looked afraid of my expression and what would happen, and I swore with every fiber of my being, that I would make sure that Emmett felt that fear, too. I ran out the door, hoping that Alice wouldn't come after me. I was going to my house, to where I hoped Emmett would be at the ready.

**Okay, back to Bella. Really very sorry about that, but you needed to know the part above this. :)**

Bella's POV:

I could see Emmett wrapping his arms around me, and for some reason, I felt warm. I wasn't sure that I wanted to wake up. Seeing him in front of me, and seeing Edward's face looming in my head made me shift in the bathtub, making sure my eyes were still closed. I felt cool fingertips brush my forearm, and I felt sure that goose bumps trailed the touch. I opened my eyes reluctantly to find Alice sitting on the ledge next to me. She looked afraid, fear painting her eyes.

"Bella...we...need to go."

"Um, hi, what? What time is it?"

"It doesn't matter. Bella, Emmett's in trouble," she said as she pulled off the blanket. Her words took me about a minute to register.

"What did you say?" I sat up quickly, struggling to get out of the tub with my loss of balance. Alice helped me up, and brought a warm washcloth to my cheeks, to wipe away the tears that dried there; she acted like a mother, like she was afraid that I would do something stupid. I pushed her hand away from my face, upset that she was stalling time. "What happened, Alice?" I demanded from her, regretting my ferocity quickly thereafter.

"I'll, uhh, explain on the way," she pulled my arm to follow her out of the bathroom, down the stairs and out of the house, trying her hardest to keep at my slow human speed. My eyes registered to the bright light radiating from the sun--it was a rare commodity to see sun here. However, no matter how bright the sun was, the dew was present on the windows, and the cool air chilled my arms, and everything else exposed.

She opened the jet black car door to the driver's seat, while I tried as fast as I could to slide into the passenger's seat. She placed a small brown paper bag in my lap as she started up the car, and pulled out to leave. "They're your clothes. Thought you might want to change out of your pajamas. You can change in the car when we get there."

I nodded. "Where's Edward? And what happened with Emmett?"

"Well, Edward went back home. Actually, we're following him in a way. And as to the second question," she turned to face me, her eyes darting back to the road, but her look towards me intent. "I was hoping you'd be the one to answer that." She waited, and I resigned leaning back on the leather interior.

"You saw?" She nodded, allowing me to continue although I wished she wouldn't. "I didn't mean to, it all happened so fast," I looked down at my lap, drenched in shame. I pretended to find a sudden interest in the stitching on my pajama pants. "Does Edward know?"

"Yes. Edward saw the vision with me." She looked back at the road; I noticed she was driving slower than was usual. "Did you plan on talking to Emmett?"

"Yes," I mumbled, embarrassed.

"Well, I saw your little rendezvous, and you two kissed. So Edward might have taken that the wrong way. You kept saying that you couldn't face _him_." I felt like I was going to cry, she got nearly everything right.

"I wanted to tell Edward, but it's just so hard, and I _really_ need to talk to him. He and Emmett, together. I didn't mean for anything to happen. Emmett and I were...just in...the wrong place at the wrong time," I ended lamely.

"It's like I said, Emmett's in trouble. This is why we need _you_ to help. Edward's not too happy about what he saw."

"I know," I mumbled, quietly, shamefully.

We pulled up to the Cullen house that radiated a calming, placid feeling. I could've sworn Jasper was waiting nearby to help to avoid any huge disasters, but the peaceful wave definitely helped with the returning feeling near my gut.

"Go ahead; you can change, but quickly. Jasper said Edward's heating up."

I pulled the tan-colored t-shirt over my head, keeping the white camisole underneath. I crawled into the back seat to change from my lavender pajama pants into the browned-warmed jeans that Alice provided. I pulled a black-knit long-sleeved cropped cardigan over my shirt, and brushed through my hair. Alice was unknowingly drumming the armrest impatiently.

"I'm done. Let's go." I stepped out and tried to walk ahead. A part of me wanted to catch Edward before it happened. The other part of me wanted to leave here. But I had to face this; there was no other option available. I walked in through the door, and there was a still silence here, it was eerie. It scared me and took away from me the calm wave. I realized after the door closed behind me that Alice hadn't followed. I took a deep breath, the butterflies in my stomach making me a tad bit dizzy.

"Uhh, Edward? Emmett?"

I walked up the stairs, looking to find the reason for no response. There was Emmett's room, and I figured Edward wouldn't dare let him his own room. I saw shadows moving from the space under the door. I opened the door to find Edward standing and Emmett crouched next to the table against the wall. They looked like they were waiting for me to enter and that they had heard my arrival beforehand. The room was dim, and it was hard to make out their figures.

"Edward?" I repeated.

"Bella." It sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

"Bella?" This time it was a question, but from Emmett. I realized that the last time I saw him, I was pushing him away, and a large part of the reason was because of the dream that I had had one night ago.

He looked at me, with a sad look in his eyes. I smiled, and as soon as it reached my face, it dropped, his sadness reflecting in my chest. I looked toward Edward.

"I'm sorry," I mouthed to him and shifting my weight, the tears were going to surface any minute. He seemed to sympathize, wondering which emotion he had more of, anger or remorse.

He held out his arm, but only slightly, and smiled my favorite crooked smile. Here the crying came, and I couldn't hold back as much as I could this morning. I cried standing there, for a second, and then ran into his arms. It was hard to see both of them, there in the same room. He guarded his arms around my back and I cried into his chest.

I thought, before, that my tears might have run out, but here that was not the case. I didn't care what we looked like, him standing there, me weeping my eyes out, and Emmett, looking awkward, now sitting on the bed. Edward rubbed my back, set his chin above my ear. His scent made me dizzy and it was hard to assemble my thoughts. I was scared of the confrontation that would soon take place, now that the tears started to lessen. I figured I might as well start where it was needed and for the reason that I had come.

"I'm sorry, Edward." The words were hard to choke out in between the last tears. I looked up at him and his face still reflected imminent dislike of the situation.

He looked away from me, my arms clasped around his back, not wanting him to let go. He loosened his arms, but only slightly, so that he might better see my face. He looked like he was thinking hard, about how he might caution his words to avoid another outbreak of crying from me. He voted to say nothing, but tried an expression of understanding, while anger stood at the ready.

"We're both sorry." Emmett's booming voice came out loud and startlingly clear. My stomach started to churn in anticipation of what he might say. "It just slipped." Oh no, please stop, please. "I didn't mean to kiss her." NO! Why did he have to say _that_?!

I closed my eyes, afraid of what I might see on Edward's face. There was an unnatural breeze that fluttered over my eyelids, and, realizing too late, Edward had leaped on Emmett. My waist started to feel warmer by the second with Edward's arms no longer there. There was loud grunting, a lengthy flurry of arguments and swear words, uttered too quickly for me to make out each of them and all I could see was a tornado of sheets. Emmett's bed sheet was in shreds on the ground, and everything happened too fast for me to make out figures in the room. Several blows indicated that desks, lamp stands, and the bed were turned over in Edward and Emmett's tumble, I tried to follow them with my eyes but their movements were too fast. I didn't know what to say. Would "stop!" do anything?

They neared the door and the largest blow of all reached my ears, and I shut my eyes quickly, with my hands clamped over them. I surfaced as the sounds echoed for a millisecond and ceased. I opened my eyes to find that the section where the wooden door once stood was bashed in, and the white paint ended around the crooked edges of the door frame. The brown wood underneath stuck out as jagged teeth of a large-sized mouth of a cave. I looked outside to see that their wrestle had continued down the stairs. I carefully found solid wood outside of the door, and exited the now-torn-up room of Emmett and Rosalie--I know she'd be pissed.

"Bella!" Alice called from the sidelines.

My head whipped around to see that Edward and Emmett's duel had struck even; Emmett's strength and Edward's speed made each opponent a perfect match. Alice's face looked grave, and I tried to run down the stairs as fast as was possible without tripping.

"Edward! Emmett, get off of him! Stop!"

I tried not to sound motherly, but I knew that the both of them could possibly do major damage to the other. I rubbed my eyes to wipe away the evidence of tears that were shed earlier, and I could see the situation clearer. Edward was definitely faster, as Emmett tried to pin him to the ground. Emmett thought he had control, but just as fast, Edward left Emmett to swing at nothing but air. Edward tried to lunge his fist at Emmett's jaw and I heard the blow, loud and clear.

"Oh, my gosh--stop!" I yelled this, as the grunting continued, while Emmett happened to punch Edward hard in the shoulder when he wasn't looking. The pop sounded like a large blow, and Edward aimed straight for Emmett's pale face in retaliation. Jasper entered the room and joined in with the fight. As soon as he entered the tumbling, my eyes closed and another more powerful calm wave engulfed all in the room.

Alice and I, both of us being the least affected by the emotion tone-down looked at the heap that was Emmett and Edward, with Jasper crouched on the sidelines. Both of the fighters looked limp and out of breath, kind of sleepy. Their motions seemed slower, as was every other movement in the room other than Alice. I grasped Edward's hand, and pulled him to the other side of the room, near the front door. He kept looking back at Emmett, trying to convince himself whether or not beating Emmett to a pulp for his utterance was a better choice, or coming to stay with me. He unwillingly chose me, and I held him close and led him out the door.

I closed the door behind us softly, leaving Emmett panting, Alice bent over him, and Jasper trying to suppress his laughter while I let my last look be wary. Edward's jaw was tight and I knew his teeth were barred. I looked to his nose with reproachful eyes, and tried to keep away from his. The black obsidian that clouded his eyes started to clear, slowly but surely. I pulled his hands from his sides to interlock my fingers in their cold marble strength. He wouldn't look at me, and I was mostly afraid that the tears would come back. I didn't need them. Not now.

"Edward?"

He looked back at me with caution twisting his planned response. He went for harmless.

"Yes?" He let me continue.

"I--you heard me...back there, right? Do you believe me?"

His chin flinched with his slight nod in my direction. His sigh sent both his aroma and dizziness to my head, and it was hard to make out his profile. Then his mouth opened and closed, finding the right way to put his feelings forth.

"Promise me..." his voice was quiet, with a slight warning to his tone, while his velvety voice sent shivers down my spine. He looked me in the eyes then, and let his power pour into my own eyes.

"Anything," I agreed quickly and unthinkingly, still dazed from his optical butterscotch weapon.

He looked down to survey my face and I blushed profusely, looking down. He pulled his hand up to cup under my chin and let his eyes into me, while his hand held my face securely in place.

His lips ventured down to my height and I knew my heart beat had sped up. I almost couldn't breathe, and I was afraid that I would do something stupid. His cold, pale, perfect lips pushed against my insufficient imperfect pair and a concentrated feeling of passion passed through to my body. It was like our first lab together in Biology. He had reached over to the microscope in Mr. Banner's class when our hands came into contact and a spark of electricity was shared by our being. The same electric charge was manifested in the meeting of our lips.

Then the contact broke and I nearly fell, still in a daze. Edward's arms caught me before I was a few inches from the ground, his reflex a little off from the intensity of our kiss. He looked away, embarrassed by his disorientation, but he seemed to recover more quickly than I. I looked back to him, after shaking my head, trying to recollect my jumbled thoughts, to find that Edward was still looking at me reproachfully.

"The promise?" Edward started. "Save those..." He touched my lips with his long and slender index finger, sending chills through my body and goose bumps up my arm. "...for me."

He was beautiful, and handsome, and mysterious, and charming, and I couldn't help myself from managing to fall in love with him all over again. I pulled my arms up to his neck, twisting the hair at the nape of his neck with my thumb and forefinger, and letting my other hand massage his neck. His mahogany-tainted eyes twinkled before me, and I tried not to let the guilty feeling surface.

I buried my face into his stone-hard chest, and for the first time today, his embrace made me feel warm. I nodded into him, my tears spilling but to a lesser degree, into his shirt, and agreeing to his request. I looked back up to him, my face below his chin, but I could see his face clearly. He brought his hands to my face, and used his thumbs to wipe away my tears. He smiled at me, flashing his brilliant smile that shone his white teeth and made me a little jealous. I pulled my arms from around his neck to rejoin around his waist as he held my face in his hands. We stood there for a long while, breathing in each other's presence.

He brought my head to his chest and let me rest my forehead in the nook of his collar bone. He rested his chin on my hair, and I could feel his aroma surrounding me, letting me nearly fall asleep.

"Only for you, Edward. Only you," I said quietly, knowing that he would hear, no matter how low I attempted my voice. I felt his hand rub my hair, and rock me slowly, lulling me into him. He lifted me up, and I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of him taking me around the house. I heard the door click as he took me back into the house. Just as quickly, I heard the lock on the door to his room click quickly thereafter.

He set me on the black couch, and pulled a remote control from a lamp stand. I heard the sounds of Debussy fill the room, with the assist of Edward's impressive sound system. I felt a gentle rustle on the couch that I was on, and opened my eyes. Edward curled around to prop himself next to me. He stretched his arm around me, and I felt secure, for the first time in a long time. I curled into his body shape, letting my warmth make it harder for him to think. I pulled his hand into mine, and played my fingers against the palm of his hand.

"I love you, Bella," Edward's voice made its debut with the feel of the music in our alternate universe of his room. The light in the room grew darker with the hours passing by, and I just held him to me, wishing that these moments could be spent with me next to him forever. I didn't want the day to change; I just wanted his arms to be protecting me every minute of every day, and for no one to disturb us. But that couldn't happen, and that made me sad. It made me weary with realization that things would never be the same. Not since I came to Forks, and not since I met Edward. I spent the very last of my tears, in a while, thinking these thoughts, while Edward held me close.

I slept over at the Cullen house that night, holding my promise in my heart, and not letting go for all the world, and everything it had to offer, because all I needed was him, and all I wanted in life...or something like it...was to be with him. That's all I needed--his love and his presence near me.

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**Ending A/N: Thank you to all of my readers and for all of the reviews. They really helped me to turn out this last chapter. It was good fun, but it caused too much stress. Maybe this is call for a oneshot. I'd like those. Any suggestions on a oneshot? Maybe fluff. I like fluff if you haven't noticed. Kay then--I'm glad this is over. :) REVIEW REVIEW! Include comments about this story and suggestions for a oneshot.**


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